How to build a veterinary teaching hospital

March 1, 6:56 AMAtlanta Dogs ExaminerSandy Weaver Carman

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UGA Teaching Hospital Building Fund

If you're a regular reader of this page, you might have noticed three short lines at the end of most columns: 

"Let's Build a Veterinary Teaching Hospital!

Click here for
Billy's Building Fund"

You might have wondered what that was about, but maybe not enough to make you click the link.  Today's column will fill in the blanks, and make you not only want to click the link, but tell your friends, too!

 We are fortunate to have a great veterinary teaching facility right in our own back yard.  The University of Georgia's College of Veterinary Medicine has a great reputation nationwide for producing well-educated, well-rounded veterinarians.  As dog lovers, we rely on our veterinarians to know how to help our non-verbal friends feel better and live healthy, long lives. 

Veterinarians aren't just born with that knowledge - they go to school to learn it.  Many of Atlanta's best vets went to UGA.  Ask them about their instructors and they'll tell glowing tales.  Ask them about the hospital and the story changes.

UGA's veterinary teaching hospital was built in 1979.  Since then there's been a sea change in technology, and in the way most people think of their pets.  No longer are they something that lives in the yard, they're a member of the family.  No longer are they something that's not worth advanced treatment practices when necessary.  Now owners are seeking out ways of treating pets with cancer, heart disease and other serious conditions.  Veterinary medicine has changed since 1979, the need for more vets has increased exponentially since 1979...but at UGA, the hospital can't accommodate any more students or patients.  It's overcrowded, outdated and sorely in need of replacement.

Enter the University of Georgia Teaching Hospital Building Campaign.  There's only been one new veterinary teaching hospital built in this country in the last three decades in spite of increasing demand for veterinarians.  In Georgia, there are nearly 4,000 pet owners for each veterinarian, and that imbalance continues to grow.  Athens should be where the next teaching hospital opens, but in order for that to happen, our help is needed.

UGA owns the land and has the plans drawn up for the hospital.  Private funds collected need to reach $15 million before ground can be broken on their state-of-the-art facility.  The university has collected around 4 million so far.

As dog owners, no matter what part of the United States we live in, we will all benefit from a better facility at UGA.  More vets can be educated, trained and graduated, meaning more and better veterinarians to care for our dogs, cats and assorted other animals.

But who is Billy, and why does he have a building fund, you might ask?

Thanks for asking.  You can learn all about who Billy is and why he wants to help UGA build a new hospital by clicking the "click here" in those three little lines at the bottom of each column.  If, after hearing the stories of each animal on that page, you'd like to tell your pet's story, too, just send an email from the "contact us" link on the bottom of the page, telling your pet's story and don't forget to include a photo.  Each story has the potential to touch another donor, so share with pride, knowing you and your pet can make a difference.

And if, in these tough times, you can make a donation, know that you will be making a difference in the lives of not only your dogs, but dogs all over the country.

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Let's Build a Veterinary Teaching Hospital!

Click here for
Billy's Building Fund